A Wrinkle in Time radiates with beauty

Disney fantasy is a sight to see

by Alexander Elmore and Jaleesia Fobbs

Disney’s updated adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, which is based on a 1962 children’s novel by Madeleine L’Engle, stands almost entirely on the grounds of sheer spectacle.

Meg Murray (Storm Reid) and her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) have been raised by their single mother ever since their scientist father disappeared. Now, Charles Wallace has begun talking to strange, celestial beings who need Meg’s help to find their father, Dr. Murry. With the help of their friend, Calvin, the group sets out to search the universe and rescue Dr. Murry from a growing darkness known as IT.

Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey portray celestial beings Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which respectively who help guide Meg on a journey to find her father. Not only do they wear grace and elegance like a second skin, but they are wise and witty in their own individual ways.

Protagonist Meg is gifted when it comes to science, engineering, and physics, but she fails to recognize that she is a gift herself. Throughout the film, Meg battles her own insecurities because she doesn’t feel like she will ever be the person everyone wants her to be.

Meg’s biggest supporter, Charles Wallace, her adopted Asian brother, is equally exceptional and sharp-witted and attempts to help Meg realize how great she is throughout the film. However, both kids take after their intelligent and brilliant parents, who are both scientists—Dr. Alex Murray (Chris Pine) and Dr. Kate Murray (Gugu Mbatha-Raw)—working to prove tesseracts (gateways to the fifth dimension) are real.

With the same cinematographer as 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, Tobias A. Schliesser, A Wrinkle in Time’s camera literally soars through clouds, floats among dancing flowers, and is thrown around by the tentacles of IT. Using a mixture of beautiful green screen and exotic physical locations, the film transports the viewer throughout the universe in astounding special effects. The costumes, hairstyling, and makeup become their own characters in the film, as they too change from scene to scene and show influences from cultures around the globe and various science fiction pop-culture.

In a simultaneously horrifying and thrilling scene, Michael Pena makes an appearance as Red, a physical manifestation of IT. Here, too, the special effects shine as the scenery rapidly melts into various sets and Pena is turned into a marionette doll. The sheer spectacle of the movie makes the film worth the price of admission. Though it may not be as fantastically outlandish as Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time has its own unique visual style that, at times, is realistic enough to be unnerving to adults and children alike.

A Wrinkle in Time is an absolutely gorgeous film with a gorgeous cast. Full of color and diversity, director Ava DuVernay teaches her audience to find the light within themselves and learn to love who they are even when they’re their own worst enemy.

A Wrinkle in Time is a film about love—audience members will feel inspired to love themselves and those around them. It’s about recognizing that faults aren’t what make people bad or imperfect but what make everyone different and extraordinary.